Striped Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus obsoletus
A medium-sized woodcreeper, widespread in the lowlands across most of Amazonia. Most obvious feature is the fairly straight, pale bill – however, it is not quite as perfectly straight as Straight-billed Woodcreeper (especially the upper mandible). Also note the buffy streaking on the head, back, and breast. Tends to be confined to riverine and varzea forest, usually in the lower to mid-levels, sometimes following a mixed-species flock. Perhaps most easily detected and identified by voice: listen for the rather harsh ascending trill
Identification
The striped woodcreeper is medium-sized, with a slim, slightly decurved bill of moderate length. The species is 18 to 20.5 cm (7.1 to 8.1 in) long. Males weigh 27 to 37 g (0.95 to 1.3 oz) and females 24 to 36 g (0.85 to 1.3 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies X. o. obsoletus have a face with thin creamy buff and dark brown streaks that become bold scaling on the sides of the neck. They have a faint pale supercilium or none at all. Their crown and nape are blackish to dark olive-brown with pale spots that have dusky edges. Their back is olive-brown with dusky-edged whitish buff streaks. Their rump, wings, and tail are cinnamon-rufous to rufous-chestnut, with dusky to dark brown tips on the primaries. Their throat is buffy white, sometimes with a faint scaly appearance. Their underparts are grayish olive-brown and sometimes have a rufescent cast; they have buffy-white streaks with black edges that are bold on the breast and weaker on the lower belly and undertail coverts. Their iris is brown to dark brown, their maxilla pale brownish to grayish-horn with a darker base, their mandible pale bluish gray to light brown, and their legs and feet shades of gray or dark brown. Juveniles are similar to adults but with less well defined dark edges to their spots and streaks.<p>Subspecies X. o. notatus is more rufescent than the nominate; its throat and streaks are a deeper buff to ochraceous and its streaks are finer. X. o. palliatus is even more rufescent; its streaks are more deeply colored and its back and rump are closer in color to each other than are the nominate's. X. o. caicarae is the smallest subspecies and has browner (less grayish) underparts and a shorter bill than the nominate.<p>The subspecies intergrade in their contact zones.
Taxonomy
The striped woodcreeper has these four subspecies:<p>Some doubt exists that X. o. caicarae is a valid subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Xiphorhynchus obsoletus
- Authority
- (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1820)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Furnariidae
- Genus
- Xiphorhynchus
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the striped woodcreeper are found thus:<p>The striped woodcreeper is primarily a bird of mature evergreen forest, and favors landscapes near water. These include várzea, igapó, and swamp forest, and river islands. It occurs less frequently in terra firme and secondary forest. In the southern part of its range it occurs in gallery forest within the cerrado. It is entirely a bird of the lowlands, being found only below 500 m (1,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Blue-headed Hummingbird
Riccordia bicolor
A hummingbird of forest openings and edges where it feeds in understory on flowers and insects. The male is splendidly clothed in iridescent deep blue and green. The female is dingy white below and mostly shimmering green above, but note the blue iridescence to the crown and tail as well as the blackish face. The Antillean Crested Hummingbird somewhat resembles the female of this species, but it often shows a crest, is shorter billed, shorter tailed, and lacks the Blue-headed Hummingbird’s blue tail. Vocalizations include a series of descending shrill metallic notes as well as a metallic “tic-tic-tic.”
Afghan Babbler
Argya huttoni
Slender, dusty-colored babbler with a long tail. Look for its contrasting white throat and streaked crown and back. Found in dry open areas such as semidesert, scrubland, and various edge habitats. Rummages about on the ground in mid-sized to large flocks. Gives a clear, musical, purring series of notes, either ascending or descending, as well as harsher, scratchier calls.
McKay's Bunting
Plectrophenax hyperboreus
Rare white snowball shrouded in mystery. Nonbreeding birds have buffy fringes to head and back feathers that wear to white by spring. Breeding males almost pure white except for limited black in wings. Breeding females have dark streaking on back. Breeds almost exclusively on St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea; winters on the coast of western Alaska. Very similar to Snow Bunting but paler, usually with white rump; intermediate birds may be hybrids.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.